


Risorgimento 12--Moving Forward

by obi_ki



Series: Risorgimento [12]
Category: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: New Republic Era - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 17:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1826344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obi_ki/pseuds/obi_ki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Although there are many things they need to discuss, the most important issue is finally brought to the table</p>
            </blockquote>





	Risorgimento 12--Moving Forward

Title: Risorgimento 12--Moving Forward  
  
Author: obi-ki  
  
Pairing: Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan  
  
Catagory: Q/O AU  
  
Time Period: About 20 years post ABY  
  
Disclaimer: Everything Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and Lucasfilms. We're just playing in his world, borrowing the boyz and their accomplices and will return them all when I'm through. No money is being made from this, it is all done for entertainment only.  
  
Author's Notes: This is the twelfth segment in the Risorgimento series and the second non-journal entry I have written solo. As always thanks to padawanewan. This series and the snarky characterization of General Kenobi would not exist without her. Thanks to Merry Amelie for the thorough beta and thoughtful suggestions. The story would be much less without her valuable input. This episode is dedicated to Monalee.  
  
Summary: Although there are many things they need to discuss, the most important issue is finally brought to the table 

*********************************************

Obi-Wan hadn't believed that things could have gotten any odder since he'd woken up and been told he'd been cloned, but this discussion about Force-ghosts was beyond anything he might have imagined. It took him a moment but he finally managed what he thought was his least sarcastic answer. "Pretty sure I wouldn't have hung around long enough to ask questions if someone glowing blue and dead had started talking to me." He searched the room with the Force again before turning back to Qui-Gon. "Plus, if the last few minutes are any example, I was probably more skilled when I was on the blue side of the equation."  
  
"Only you..." Qui-Gon trailed off, shaking his head before asking the next question. "So how do you suggest we proceed from here?"  
  
"Have you forgotten all of your lessons, my Master?" Obi-Wan chuckled. "We shall be patient and a solution will present itself."  
  
One eyebrow lifted as Qui-Gon speared his companion with a piercing look. "It appears that I failed miserably in one of your lessons, Obi-Wan. There is a vast difference between smart and smart-ass."  
  
"You also taught me that a man must take his pleasures where he can, Qui-Gon." A glint shone in Obi-Wan's eyes as he reached over and placed his hands on Qui-Gon's forearms. "No time like the present," he whispered, before leaning forward and covering Qui-Gon's lips with his.  
  
The glint in Obi-Wan's eyes set off warning bells for Qui-Gon, but the feel of Obi-Wan's lips against his was as unexpected as it was longed-for. His shock quickly melted into surrender and he opened his mouth beneath the pleasing exploration. He met Obi-Wan's questing tongue with his own and lost himself in the oft-dreamed melding. He couldn't help the sigh of disappointment that escaped when Obi-Wan pulled back.  
  
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon began but found himself at a loss for words. The man in him wanted to pull Obi-Wan into his arms and let events continue to fruition. The Jedi in him knew that for this to work, they had to look beyond a physical joining, to see if this was the right path for them and what they needed to do to create an equal and supportive partnership.  
  
"Sithspit," Obi-Wan growled. "Even with all your years of preaching, I was hoping that for once you could just go with the flow. But you won't be happy until we have talked ourselves hoarse, so we might as well get on with it. Here or in the galley?"  
  
"The galley, please. I could use some tea," Qui-Gon replied, rising from the co-pilot's chair.  
  
"I think I'll need something stronger than tea," Obi-Wan muttered. With one final check of the ship's controls, he rose as well and extended his arm. "After you."  
  
It took only a few seconds for them to walk the short distance to the galley, and Obi-Wan waved Qui-Gon to the small table as he began rummaging through the cupboards. He quickly found the kettle, bottled water and tea leaves and had the tea brewing within minutes. He was searching for mugs when he came upon a pleasant surprise.  
  
Holding up an amber bottle, Obi-Wan laughed. "Var-Son really did his research." Looking at the small piece of flimsiplast taped to the bottle of Whyren's Reserve, he read aloud,  
  
'General Kenobi, I thought this might help you get through the next few days. Enjoy, Var-Son'  
  
Qui-Gon's laughter joined Obi-Wan's. "But did he leave it because it's your favorite indulgence or because he thought you'd need it to cope?"  
  
"Probably both," Obi-Wan replied, as he set the bottle on the table.  
  
Qui-Gon looked between the bottle and his former apprentice and raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it a bit early to imbibe?"  
  
"It has to be evening somewhere," Obi-Wan quipped as he placed two mugs on the counter. "I'll just hold it in reserve for now. It could be a long four days."  
  
Their ghostly watchers materialized at the door of the galley. "Being cloned has done nothing to dim his intelligence," Obi-Wan's counterpart said with a smirk.  
  
"Are you implying that it has affected Qui-Gon's, Padawan?" the glowing master countered.  
  
"Absolutely not, but it obviously has not tempered his inherent stubbornness or intractability, either. The General may need fortification to wear down his tenacity."  
  
"And I may soon need repellent boots," the invisible master replied before turning his attention back to the living.  
  
As he placed the mugs on the table, Obi-Wan found he was being studied intently. "What? Did I grow a second head?"  
  
Ignoring the evident innuendo, Qui-Gon smiled sadly. "No, but you have grown. I look at you and there is so much that I do not know. There is so much of your life and your experiences that I am unaware of." He held up his hand when Obi-Wan would have spoken and continued. "For twelve years, I knew everything about you, experienced every event in your life along side you. For me, it seems like just yesterday when you stood at my side, barely twenty-five-years-old and on the cusp of knighthood. Now you are a Master in your own right, with thirteen years of knowledge and experiences that passed for me unnoticed. How do we cross that chasm?"  
  
Obi-Wan reached across the table and placed his hand over Qui-Gon's. "We cross it the same way we crossed every obstacle and change in our lives for the twelve years we were together, one day at a time. The Force is telling me to listen to my heart, and my heart is telling me that we belong together. In this new life, we must remain together, in every way, and as long as we do, all will be well."  
  
Sipping slowly from his mug, Qui-Gon didn't look convinced. "You make it sound so easy."  
  
"Maybe not easy, but definitely doable." Obi-Wan squeezed the hand he held and continued. "Many things about this new life will be different but one thing remains the same. I have been in love with you since I was sixteen, and I know that you loved me. So unless that has changed in your reincarnation, I want the chance we never had in our first lives. The chance to be partners in all things, to live as lovers and mates until the Force claims us once again."  
  
"You've never lacked for ambition and it appears that has not changed."  
  
"Never let it be said that Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't know what he wants," Obi-Wan replied with a smirk.  
  
Qui-Gon twisted his hand and intertwined their fingers. "I do love you, Obi-Wan, and I am certain that beneath your much-changed exterior, the heart and soul that fuel your spirit are still the same. History texts can give me facts but they cannot convey the emotions you experienced in the years after my death. Those experiences changed you, matured you into the Jedi Master who now sits before me. I must acclimate to those changes if we are to step forward into this new life as equals."  
  
Obi-Wan rose from his chair and walked around the small table to stand beside Qui-Gon, his eyes steeled with resolve. "As you said, I have come a long way from the man I was at twenty-five. I have no intention of moving forward as anything less than your equal. We did not always agree in the years we were together but, with very few exceptions, we didn't let any of those disagreements affect our partnership." A slight smile tugged at his lips. "I didn't earn the title 'The Negotiator' for nothing. I learned my lessons well in my years at your side. We will surely experience some bumps along the road, but we will traverse it and be stronger for the experience."  
  
Qui-Gon got to his feet and looked into Obi-Wan's eyes. "I'm not saying I don't want to try, I do, I just think that we should move forward slowly."  
  
"Do or do not. There is no try," Obi-Wan couldn't resist replying.  
  
"Sometimes all we can do is try," Qui-Gon answered sadly. He looked like he was going to say more but did not, his blue eyes filled with some emotion Obi-Wan couldn't decipher.  
  
Obi-Wan took advantage of the hesitation, taking Qui-Gon's hand and pressing it over his heart and placing his other hand on Qui-Gon's chest. "Just this once, forget about everything but what's in here."  
  
"I'm not..." Qui-Gon's words halted when Obi-Wan moved his fingers from his chest to rest against his lips.  
  
"Duty will find us soon enough, my Master. And any concerns will still be there to be resolved in a few hours. If we don't take advantage of this time alone now, another opportunity may not present itself."  
  
Another long moment of hesitation, and then Qui-Gon pressed a kiss to the fingers on his lips before twining them with his own. "How did you become so wise, my Padawan?"  
  
"If something is repeated often enough, eventually it sinks in," Obi-Wan replied with a chuckle.  
  
"Nice to know I wasn't wasting my breath. As long as you accept that this conversation is postponed, not completed. So where do we go from here?"  
  
Obi-Wan took a step towards the door and tugged on Qui-Gon's hand. "The sleep quarters would be my suggestion. I think we're both a little old for durasteel floors." Obi-Wan looked around the cockpit and his eyes darkened. "Though one of these walls, on the other hand, might be a viable option."  
  
The hesitation that had been present since the start of their discussion vanished and Qui-Gon met the lust-filled look with one of his own. "Maybe later. I'd like to do a bit of inspecting, and a horizontal surface will be much more accommodating."  
  
This time Obi-Wan's laughter echoed through the hallway as he dragged Qui-Gon to the cockpit. "And we both know I am nothing if not accommodating." He took a moment to recheck the settings on the autopilot. "I won't need to make any type of course adjustment for at least six hours, so that should be time enough to at least get started."  
  
"This may be a new body but I'm still an old man, Obi-Wan. Six hours is definitely outside of my expected performance window." Qui-Gon looked intently at the man standing before him, examining him with a gaze that was equal parts lust and humor. "And you're not seventeen anymore, either."  
  
Their counterparts trailed along behind, and General Kenobi punched his glowing partner in the arm as he pointed a finger at the physical Qui-Gon. "Did the cloning process damage your brain? You'll never get laid if you keep making those kind of comments."  
  
"Do you have to be so crass, Padawan? Really?" He turned and raked a hot gaze up and down his partner's body. "Plus, we both know you're a pushover."  
  
"I just have a very healthy sex-drive," he grumbled before turning his attention back to the two in front of them.  
  
Obi-Wan took a step closer to Qui-Gon and ran his free hand down the length of the man's chest. "Maybe not, but I have a feeling that all those years of celibacy will give me an edge." Dragging him back down the hallway to the sleeping chamber, Obi-Wan pulled down one of the bunks and eyed it speculatively. "It should do. Why don't we see just how far these new bodies will take us?" 

TBC


End file.
